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July 15, 2006
random reviews
I've been busy, busy, busy, so I haven't been writing much lately. But here and there, Tim and I have watched a few interesting movies. So, here's a couple of quick reviews.
Here's Tim's take on it...
We saw an incredible movie a couple of weeks ago – Shakespeare Behind Bars, a documentary about a group of prisoners in a Kentucky jail who, under the guidance of an outside director, staged a full length performance of The Tempest for their fellow inmates and then took it to other prisons in the U.S. It was amazing to see that these wretched men who committed heinous crimes were able to cooperate with each other, speak kindly, take criticism constructively (for the most part!) and really treat the play and Shakespeare seriously. For many of them, acting out a character in a play opened up parts of their psyche which they had been hiding from. Their life stories were so sad. Listening to their interviews, their greatest concern wasn’t about fighting their imprisonment, nor fighting the world. They were fighting themselves – what they had become, and this came out in the way they interpreted and portrayed their characters in the play. It was great seeing how some prisons provide the means for the prisoners to improve themselves. It’s better than letting them just rot in their cells year after year.
Joanna: This is an unbelievable movie. I think it's really easy to escape our own sin and brokenness, and this gets you into the hearts of people who have broken themselves beyond all escape. I found myself realizing that Shakespeare isn't enough, and wishing that they had the true gospel. It was wonderful, though, how Shakespeare gave them words to articulate their own struggles. I was weeping by the time we left the movie theater, and I wasn't the only one.
We’ve also been delving into the history of American music by watching Ken Burns’s Jazz and Martin Scorsese’s The Blues. Ken Burns deals as much with race relations, politics, the growth of cities and sociology as he does with the music (which isn’t a criticism). Burns’s history is strictly chronological, but Scorcese’s is more non-linear, showing how modern blues players have a direct connection to Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Blind Lemon Jefferson. The Burns series has little to say about “modern jazz” (whatever that is), because so much of it has strayed so far from the roots of jazz that few connections can be made. Is it even “jazz”? Interesting – the Blues is always the Blues, but Jazz is a chameleon – it is ever changing.
We're still obsessed with French culture, and indulged ourselves by watching The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Cleo from 5 to 7. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is enthralling: gorgeous music--every line of dialogue is sung, like a Wagnerian endless melody ("except more melodic" Joanna jibes as Tim cringes), bright glossy colors, and a bittersweet plot.
Cleo from 5 to 7 was a classic example of the French new wave and it waved right over our heads. It had beautiful scenes of out-of-the-way sections of Paris (no overused iconic pictures of the Eiffel Tower in this flick), but we didn't quite get it. It was filmed in real time, as a woman examined (?) her own life (?) while she was waiting to hear from her doctor whether or not she had cancer. She spent her time fluctuating between indulging in mindless frivolities, and occasionally glimpsing her dire situation. Ahh, directionless French existential angst in action, er, not in action. Whatever!
movies | By Tim and Jo | 9:20 PM
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Comments
Love Umbrellas!
C gave it to me for our anniv!
Posted by: Jeannette at July 17, 2006 8:22 PM